Florida Gators
Orange & Blue Debut
Gators End Spring with Culture Shift in High Gear
Saturday, April 11, 2015 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Over a span of 1 hour, 46 minutes on Saturday, the Florida football team was on display in a public venue for the first time since head coach Jim McElwain took over the program.
A longtime offensive coordinator hired to inject, well, some offense back into the Gators, McElwain came to UF after a successful three-year stint as head coach at Colorado State where his versatile offensive philosophy rejuvenated the Rams.
For those Florida fans who showed up at the Orange & Blue Debut spring game on Saturday expecting to see 80-yard touchdown runs and 500 yards of passing, they probably left disappointed. The fans who had been keeping tabs on the Gators this spring – you know, the ones who knew UF had only six healthy scholarship offensive linemen available -- they saw what they probably should have expected.
Not a lot of fireworks, but a lot of new faces.
The Orange defeated the Blue 31-6. It's doubtful many will remember that score in a few months.
Instead, the more likely memories will be redshirt freshman quarterback Will Grier making his first appearance for the Gators, finishing 8 of 11 for 136 yards. Little-used receiver Alvin Bailey stretching to make a 42-yard grab on a flea-flicker pass from Grier. Treon Harris throwing the game's only touchdown pass to redshirt freshman tight end C'yontai Lewis, who caught four passes for 54 yards in his college debut.
There were more highlight moments.
Junior running back Kelvin Taylor scored on runs of 2 and 4 yards, and walk-on receiver-turned-running back Case Harrison, a product of Gainesville High just a couple of miles away, scored on an 11-yard run late in the game. Kicker Austin Hardin made a pair of field goals and walk-on kicker Jorge Powell connected on a 34-yarder to end the first half.
All in all, considering the lack of bodies up front – the second-team offensive line featured four walk-ons – Saturday's outing resembled your typical spring game.
Some good, some bad, and a lot of unknowns heading into the offseason.
McElwain did give a pointed answer when asked if he was pleased with the progress of the offense this spring. He has installed only a fraction of what he hopes to eventually have in place.
“No. There's so much more to do,'' he said. “There's so many lost opportunities and getting your guys to understand the attention to detail, the focus of the communication and the mindset to go win this play. That's what we've got to get.”
The Gators dropped too many passes. They made too many mental mistakes and unforced errors. Harris needs to improve his sense of urgency in the red zone.
Those were observations McElwain reeled off in his postgame press conference.
What stood out is that they were all offensive observations.
McElwain's expertise is on offense and it shows. No different than former head coach Will Muschamp, whose expertise clearly was defense; he often voiced similar concerns after games or practices, but more often than not they focused on missed tackles, shedding blocks and coverage failures.
In other words, defensive stuff.
Grier has noticed the change in tone from the top man since McElwain arrived.
“I think he's more involved with us a little bit more than Muschamp was just because I think he knows the offense very well and you know, he'll kind of tell us stuff on the field and off the field,'' Grier said. “Muschamp didn't have as much [offensive] knowledge. He had some but not as much as McElwain has in this one.”
The real change McElwain is chasing and Florida fans want to see happen is on Saturdays in the fall. The Gators are five years removed from their last trip to the SEC Championship Game.
If the defensive talent returning stays healthy and performs as expected, the Gators should be fine on that side of the ball.
The offense needs work. That was the case before Saturday's exhibition, and nothing changed afterward.
“As I said, when we get the roster back to balance we'll, you know, juice this thing up,'' McElwain said. “But I did the best I could, we did the best we could, our O-line did the best they could and I'm proud of them."
McElwain said that while Grier had the advantage this spring, the quarterback battle between he and Harris will continue throughout the offseason and into fall camp.
“That'll be a really good competition moving forward,'' McElwain said.
Meanwhile, the Gators have six offensive linemen arriving over the summer to provide much-needed depth up front. As for the backfield, Taylor and Adam Lane are the two most-experienced running backs, but true freshmen Jordan Scarlett and Jordan Cronkrite join the mix before next season.
Everyone is invited to audition as playmakers. They will not be turned away.
McElwain envisions spring games in the future much different than his first at Florida.
“As this program grows, that game will become a draftable game that will become competitive,'' he said.
On offense. On defense. And on special teams.
The Gators have been above-average in two of those three phases in recent years.
But Harris, who started five games as a true freshman last season, hit on the biggest difference this spring compared to his first season on campus.
It's the man in charge and his approach.
“He knows offense,'' Harris said. “He knows what is going on in the offense.”
That's as good a start under McElwain as any for the Gators as they enter the offseason.
